


Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart

by AmaranthineSkies



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Anastasia 1997 AU, Anastasia AU, F/M, I have no idea what I'm doing let's just go with the flow kiddos, M/M, instead of foxy grandma dowager empress we have spicy older brother grand duke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-13 03:26:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11751087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthineSkies/pseuds/AmaranthineSkies
Summary: An Anastasia AU based on the 1997 masterpiece from Don Bluth and the idea from the lovely Sunniapplepie.





	1. Chapter 1

1916, Imperial Russia

 

As the evening melted away into the starry night, a powdery snow began to cover St. Petersburg in a blanket that sparkled against the dim lights of the city. Decorated carriages and cars filled up the courtyard of Palace Catherine as the guests continued to pour in; A celebration was taking place for the anniversary of 300 years under the Avidan rule. The party was in full swing as Mark, the Grand Duke, made his fashionably late arrival. He sat in one of the ornate chairs at the back of the room to observe the dancing and gleeful conversation. His father was dancing with his siblings, twirling them around as they laughed and squealed, their mother watching with a content smile- though it was a certain young mop of curls he was searching for in the crowd.

"Mark! Mark!" A small voice exclaimed.

Mark grinned in the direction of his youngest brother who was then running up the stairs and flinging himself into waiting arms. He clung to him tightly, the two erupting into a fit of giggles before he stood the young Prince back on his feet. Mark had spent the last few months by himself in Paris and while it was beautiful and he felt at home there, he missed his family dreadfully whenever they were apart. Which reminded him-

"Hey Leigh, I got something for you while I was away." Mark said as he reached down into his dress coat's pocket to find the gift.

"I hope it's something that'll keep you here instead of going back to Paris." Leigh pouted.

Mark brought his brother's hand to his own and placed a heavy weight into it. "Well... think of it as something to keep a part of me with you while I'm gone."

Leigh looked down in wonder at his hand, turning the glimmering box around. "Oh! Is it a jewelry box?"

Mark lifted the collar of his shirt to pull off a delicate gold necklace, placing the end charm into the side of the box. He gave it a few turns when it suddenly opened and a song began to play.

"That's the song you sing to me!" Leigh said after a moment of listening, very proud that he was able to point that out.

"When I'm gone, you can play it and pretend it's me singing," Mark ruffled Leigh's hair and removed the charm from the box, handing it to his brother. "Read what it says, buddy."

He squinted at the tiny words that had been ever so carefully etched into the plating of the charm, even giving it a turn and angling it to the light to make it out better. "Together in... Paris. Paris. Oh! Paris!" Leigh bounced into Mark's arms once again in a tight hug. "Do you mean it, Mark?!"

"Of course! I've already worked some things out. I want you to stay with me for the summer."

Leigh looked as if he were about to cry with happiness, earning an almost misty smile from Mark himself. His brother had been wanting to see Paris for the longest time and all he wanted was for that dream to come true. He wanted to take the young Prince to see it all; the Eiffel Tower, River Seine, all of the shops and restaurants, the beautiful garden Mark had at his home there... He couldn't wait to show Leigh, he was going to give him the best summer he could.

They would be together in Paris.

 

~~*~~

 

They would never be together in Paris that summer.

It was later on in the night and the party had come down to a calm when the grand doors flew open, sending a chilling breeze throughout the hall. Snow swirled around the feet of the noblemen and women, all of them stepping back in fear as a dark figure made their slow, creeping path across the marble floor. The figure lifted their head to reveal a youthfully boyish face, but there was no denying the undertone of something sinister that lurked there. Mark instinctively pushed Leigh behind him, the other hand readied on his sword. Their father was already storming over, replacing his normally cheerful attitude with that o the frightening Czar he could be.

"How dare you return to the palace, Rossputin?" He demanded, showing no fear as he stood so close before him.

The fraud they had thought to be a holy man, only having revealed himself as only power hungry, mad...possibly even evil. Rumors had flooded every shop and home that he had made a deal with the Devil himself to grow powerful enough to seek out the revenge he swore to bring to the Avidans for casting him away.

He raised an eyebrow to the Czar. "Please... I am your confidant, am I not?"

"Confidant?! A _traitor_! Get out!"

"You cannot banish the great Rossputin!" He laughed in a way that sent a chill down Leigh's spine, causing him to fearfully cling to Mark's arm even harder.

Rossputin swished his cape dramatically and pointed a long nailed finger directly at the Czar's heart. "By the unholy powers vested in me, I banish you with a curse!"

"A curse. Very original, Ross. Bet they haven't heard that one." a monotonous voice came from the wizard's shoulder, Leigh peeked out enough just to see the small white bat who looked very bored. Well... as bored as a white bat could look, he supposed.

"Fuckin'..." Ross swatted at the bat with a huff. "Shut up Brian!"

The Czar exchanged confused looks with the guests. "Ehhhh-"

"A CURSE!" Rossputin started up with flare again, spinning to his side to point at other guests for emphasis. "You and your family will die within the fortnight!"

"I will not rest until I have seen the end of the Avidan line forever!"

"Real threatening voice crack on the end. Good job." The bat started up in that same tone again from Rossputin's other shoulder.

"Fucking Christ, Brian!" He threw his hand up and within a quick flash of crackling light, one of the crystal chandeliers fell to the ground and shattered, barely missing a few people who scattered and cried out.

With that, he was gone.

 

~~*~~

 

Two weeks passed. Two long weeks that seemed to drag on with the hushed promises that no evil wizard would show up and bring harm to Leigh's family. The Prince had started to believe it. Until the night it came to be. He had been sleeping peacefully when he was suddenly being dragged from bed and having a coat shoved on over his nightgown.

" 'S'happening..." He mumbled and rubbed his eyes.

Mark was breathing hard and shoving shoes onto his brother's feet. "Leigh, we have to leave _right now_."

Before Leigh even had a moment to fully comprehend what was happening, he was being pulled from the room and out into the hallway where the two were met with absolute chaos; it seemed as though every person in the palace, maid, stablehand, cook- EVERYONE was running in a panic to the back doors. Fear began to twist in the Prince's insides they pushed through the crowd, his shorter legs not able to keep up with Mark's. He was ready to go, to follow and do whatever his brother would tell him to do, when he remembered-

"WAIT! My music box!" Leigh yanked his hand out of Mark's grip and ran as fast as he could back to the bedroom.

Mark made and instant 180 and began to shove others out of the way to reach him. "LEIGH! LEIGH NO!"

When the Duke finally caught up with his brother in the room, he slammed the doors shut and looked around frantically for another way out. The large windows glowed orange from the fire that had been started outside, that option was completely out of the picture. The thick smoke was starting to seep under the door as Mark was growing more panicked by the second. Before he could have another thought, a scraping noise came from behind the pair in the wall. They whipped around to see a stocky boy around Leigh's age standing there and wildly gesturing them in.

"Quick, this is the servant's quarters!" He was yanking mark and Leigh in faster than either could fully comprehend.

Leigh began to pull back again when his music box tumbled out of his sweat slicked hands. "No-!"

"JUST GO!" The boy shoved the wall back in place and left Mark and Leigh in the dim pathway.

Mark had no idea where this would exit to, but he planned to just keep running straight on- straight on until they reached the train station. The winding path ended at a thick wooden door that he crashed against with all his might to break it down. With a searing pain blooming on his shoulder, he seized Leigh's hand once more and ran out into the night, starting to realize where they were. It was the river, frozen to what he hoped to be solid, but there was no time to stand around and test it; the only thing in his head was to keep running and get his brother to safety. The sow crunched under their feet as they ran under the bridge- they were so, so close to the train station, they could make it!

"Mark!" Leigh cried out as he was torn from his brother's grip.

"Rossputin!" Mark snarled as he slid across the surface of the river to reach Leigh.

"You'll never escape me, you little shit!" He laughed fiendishly.

Leigh trashed his legs about and tried his best to kick him away. "Let me go! Please!"

All of the sudden pressure on the ice made it start to crack, chunks breaking away as Rossputin began to sink in the frigid water. Mark grabbed Leigh by the wrists and pulled him up, starting to run in the direction of the train station again.

"Brian! Help me!" Rossputin called out to the bat who was watching the scene from the edge of the cracked surface.

"Use your wizard magic."

"Brian! You fuckinlblbulublbussh-"

He would hopefully stay under that ice, Leigh thought to himself.

 

They had finally reached the train station and they would be safe as soon as they hopped the next car leaving for the countryside! It seemed like everyone else had the same idea as well, the train station was even more of a panicked crowd than it had been at the palace. Mark quickly scanned the wide lay of tracks for the next train queued to leave. There was a car slowly pulling away, the back already filled- but waiting for the next one wasn't something Mark wanted to risk.

"Leigh, when I say jump, jump onto the back, okay?!" He shouted over the crowd.

Leigh was so overwhelmed and exhausted at this point he began to cry. "I-I don't know if I can! Mark, please!"

"You _can_!" Mark would not stay here and let anything happen to his brother, they were getting on that train no matter what. "Get ready now!"

"Mark!" the Prince cried out.

"JUMP NOW!" Mark lept forwards onto the back platform, but felt the warmth slip from his hands. He looked back to see his brother struggling against the crowd. "No! NO, LEIGH!"

"MARK!" he was sobbing now, his chest aching and his legs going stiff. "MARK, WAIT!"

The train was picking up speed. Mark's attempt to jump off the back was stopped by the men beside him holding him back, not noticing Leigh standing there desperately flailing his arms and crying out, instead fearing Mark was trying to hurt himself.

Tears soaked the front of the pale blue nightgown as Leigh tried to run after the train, still calling out to his brother. It wasn't long after the car faded out of sight that someone shoved into the young Prince, his head hitting the rails hard enough to knock him out.

His head was swimming, but the song stayed...  
It was a song that someone was singing to him...

 

Once upon a December.


	2. Chapter 2

February 1927

 

St. Petersburg had become rather gloomy within the last decade. Ever since the revolution, the city had become more industrial and full of smog. People would have to take the utmost care in every word they uttered to each other in public in fear of someone... of a so-to-speak higher stance in society overhearing them and the worst happening. Though on every corner, at every kiosk in the marketplace, every alleyway, the people were all talking in hushed tones about the same thing; that the Prince Leigh was still alive and out there somewhere.  
Grand Duke Mark had never given up hope that his brother had survived that night from a decade past. He issued out a request that whoever could bring him the Prince would be awarded 10 million rubles- that request, especially with focus on the reward, had become the gossip of the city. Many men were starting to have the same idea of dressing up in fancy linens and growing their hair out into poor attempts at the famous Avidan curls to pass as him.  
The rumor had sparked an instant idea within a certain con artist of the name Arin Hanson. He was determined to hold auditions to find the closest match to Prince Leigh above all the rest, teach him to act, set off for Paris- and there! Five million for him, five million for his best friend and companion Barry! They would be able to buy their own damn palace instead of crashing at run down inns every few nights. 

"I managed to get us a theater!" Barry said proudly as the pair made their way through the busy marketplace. 

"Perfect, now all we need is the guy," Arin grinned as they climbed the rickety stairs to their most recent living space. "Just imagine it, Barry. No more forging papers, no more stealing, no more living in dumps like this-" 

He gestured wildly around to the walls riddled with holes as he began to gather his bags. "We'll be out of 'Petersburg for good!" 

Barry adjusted his fur hat and started collecting his own belongings. "That's the dream." 

Arin secured the most important item to sell this whole act- the small green music box that belonged to Prince Leigh himself. With that kind of evidence, there's no way the Grand Duke could think twice. At least that's how it worked in Arin's head. 

"Are you sure he'll buy it?" Barry questioned. 

"He hasn't seen his brother since he was a little kid, how is he gonna tell the difference with an amazing hand picked actor? It's not that hard to find some asshole with brown eyes and a head 'o curls around this place." 

Barry shook his head and followed arin out of the window to the slope in the roof. "I'm trusting your judgement here, Arin." 

Arin clapped him on the back and started to carefully make his decent down the eve and to the cobbled road. "Our judgement, my friend. Our." 

"Well our judgment is relying on that money," Barry's boots clicked against the road as he joined his friend on the ground. "Now come, we have a trolley to catch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short 'n sweet chapter to introduce the lovely Arin and impeccable Barry! Fun fact - St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad after the revolution and wasn't called St. Petersburg again until 1991. (Edit, not sure why it's showing my end notes from the previous chapter. I'm on mobile & im new to this oops)


	3. Chapter 3

On the other side of the city, pushed far back beyond the line of the thick woods, there was an orphanage. Board and stone that was kept within a twisting iron gate- what one would typically expect an orphanage to be, not a very upbeat or friendly looking place. There was a sense of bittersweet excitement in the air for the children as one of them would be leaving. They all nearly climbing on top of each other to see out of the various windows to wave goodbye to their long time friend, who was feeling both excited and absolutely terrified as he walked down the aged steps for the very last time. He followed the orphanage's manager, Brent, out of the house and into the brisk morning air.

"I managed to get you a job in that fish factorydown the way," Brent said. "Go down the path until you get to the fork in the road-" 

"Bye! Bye everyone!" 

"You'll see the sign, go left-" 

"Bye! I love you guys!"

"Are you even listening?!" Brent exclaimed and turned around.

Dan straightened up and stopped his goodbye to the children. "Uhh... yeah."  

The older man rolled his eyes at Dan and began to lead him by his own scarf to the front gate. "Don't be a pain in my ass, kid. You're leaving and my vacation starts now."

Dan still wasn't paying attention, still turning around to wave and blow kisses to the children still pressed to the windows. Brent pulled out a heavy ring of keys from his pocket and began to unlock the gate before turning back.

"Still no clue where you're from, huh?" He questioned without much interest. 

Dan fiddled with the small charm of his necklace. "I do have a clue! It's-" 

Brent cut him off and gestured for Dan to walk out. "Yeah the whole Paris thing. Cool. Bye, kid." The sooner he was able to get out of the now falling snow and back indoors, the better.

And with that, he was out side of the gates for the first time as someone who was free to do as they wished. 

As Dan walked along the snowy path, he seriously debated taking the path to the factory and taking the job Brent had told him about. He'd have a job like everyone else, have a small home maybe, start a life that seemed so boring and gloomy. Factory work, especially in this day and age, didn't appeal to him in the slightest. There had to be somewhere else. Dan had been thinking over everything quite a lot even weeks before he knew he'd be leaving the orphanage. Everything seemed so much more real and difficult to decide on now that he was truly on his own on an empty path, snow crunching underfoot.

There was always Paris... Dan thought hard on that and began to twirl the delicate golden chain of his necklace around his fingers. How would he even get from here to Paris? Boat? Train? He was completely clueless as to how to even get there. He had enough money on hand to possibly buy a ticket, though the mere thought of doing such made his heart skip a beat. When he looked up again, he was met with the fork in the road. It was time to make a decision.

"If I go left," Dan said to himself softly. "I'll be Dan the orphan forever..."

He took a step over to the right and looked to the sign that had St. Petersburg crudely carved into the wood. "If I go right, I-..." 

He trailed off with a deep sigh escaping his lips. Dan lifted his hat off to run a hand through his mane of thick curls, it immediately after going back to fiddle with his necklace. He looked down at the etched words. _Together in Paris._  

"Whoever gave me this necklace must have loved me..." _Loved you enough to end up in an orphanage._  

He shook his head and sat in the snow, frustrated and confused. "This is insane. Me? Going to Paris?" 

Dan looked up to the pearly grey sky, blinking away the snowflakes getting caught in his lashes. "Give me a sign, man!" He called up to the Heavens, the forces of the universe, whoever was listening. "Anything!" 

He sat there in the snow for a few moments, waiting for some miracle to happen. _Yeah fucking right_ , he thought to himself. Maybe he should give up the idea of a journey to Paris and head on down the left path. It would certainly have made things easier for him. Dan was just about to give up when suddenly he felt his scarf being yanked from his coat pocket.

"Hey!" He jumped up, expecting to see some kid pulling a fast one on him, but instead he saw a small brown dog with his favorite blue scarf clenched between its teeth. He couldn't deny it was adorable, but it would have been even more adorable if his scarf wasn't at risk for earning a few new holes. "Give that back, please!" 

The dog refused and began to weave in and out of the thin trees along the pathway, barking at Dan excitedly when he noticed the man chasing him. The dog came to a stop and looked back to Dan expectantly with its tail wagging. Dan exchanged glances between the dog, the sky, and the pathway he was now on; straight ahead was St. Petersburg. 

"Oh my God," He leaned down to pet the dog that was now happily nuzzling against him, managing to carefully sneak his scarf back into his pocket. "Of course a dog wants me to go to St. Petersburg. That's definitely a sign." 

The dog barked in approval. 

"Are you coming with me? You'll need a name..." Dan scratched the dog's ears and scooped him up into arms, thinking for a moment. "Vernon? Do you like that name?"

The dog barked again. _Vernon it is, then,_ he decided. 

He was doing it. He was taking his first intentional step down the path to the city, the fish factory far from mind as he set Vernon down and the two started their journey to St. Petersburg. 

_Heart don't fail me now_ , Dan prayed to himself, hoping his courage wouldn't desert him either. There was no turning back now that he was here on the path, doing his best to remain optimistic about whatever he would be met with. He had always heard people talking about how life is full of choices, though not one mentioned fear or how the world could seem so vast. It'd be one new experience after another for him on this journey he was now on, a journey to his past in a way to find whoever was in Paris. 

Dan felt like somewhere down the road, someone was just _waiting_ for him. All the years he'd dreamed about arms wide open just for him, finally feeling safe and wanted, finally in a home where he belonged. They were things he wanted more than anything; home, love, and a family. It couldn't have been all that long ago that he had those things. 

Dan and Vernon walked past a small village, Vernon yapping excitedly at children playing in the snow while Dan looked to a man and woman holding a baby wrapped in furs. They cooed down at the baby, expressions full of nothing but pure love and joy. Dan wondered if anyone had held him like that, or looked at him that lovingly. He felt it deep within him, he just _knew_ he would never be complete until he found that family of his own. 

They were so close to the outskirts of the city, the forest beginning to thin out. Dan's heart rate sped up as an excited, but God, so very sick, feeling filled him. He was so close, he was determined. He'd get a ticket and be on the next train out and headed to Paris! One step at a time, one hope then another. He was on to find his future and the things his heart still needed to know. _What_ exactly would he come to find in Paris? 

_Let this road be mine, let it lead me_ , Dan told himself and kept his breathing steady, already feeling a bit more calm. _Bring me home at last._

He and Vernon reached the top of the hill that overlooked the city and Dan was awestruck. It was like a dream. The city shined gold and grey and it was the most beautiful place Dan had ever seen. Taking a deep breath, he picked up Vernon and made his way down the hill and into the city. Getting a train ticket was going to be a piece of trubochka!

 

~~*~~

 

Getting a train ticket was in no way a piece of trubochka. 

Dan had proudly marched up to the ticket kiosk requesting one ticket for Paris, only to be yelled at and turned away for not having an exit visa. Fantastic, there goes his shot at Paris. He dejectedly began to walk away when he felt a tug at his coat. He turned to see an old woman, looking around before speaking in a low whisper - 

"You need an exit visa, then go see Arin. He can help." 

Dan felt a bit hesitant at the idea of going to a stranger for help in leaving the country...but... he _had_ to get to Paris...

"Where can I find him?" 

"At the old Catherine Palace," The old lady looked around nervously once more. "But you didn't hear it from me."

"Thank you so-... much?" Dan looked around, but she had already disappeared into the crowd. 

Looks like he was making his way to the Catherine Palace. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to go back and edit the first chapter because I am a fool and confused Palace Catherine with Palace Alexander!! Disclaimer, I know literally nothing about Brent or how to put his personality to this character here, so I'm sorry if this is beyond far off.   
> Also I tried my best to put that magical music number known as Journey to the Past into a thought dwelling and self searching time for Dan. Nothing will ever do the original number justice, but GOD give this poor boy his family


	4. Chapter 4

The morning had long since faded into a steely blue evening by the time Arin and Barry were done with auditions. It had been... quite the experience, to say the least. One flat out 'no' right after the other, no one coming even close to how Prince Leigh would look or present himself- some people came in just expecting Arin to throw them a wig and they'd be set for meeting the Grand Duke in Paris. Their time had been wasted in the drafty, musty building. Barry had spent the last of their money on renting the theater in hopes that they would find the one, but it truly seemed hopeless considering how the day had gone. What were they supposed to do now?

 

"This is the end of our con, Arin," Barry sighed as he gathered up his coat and hat, closing the door behind him. "No luck on finding a Prince among commoners, no luck on getting out of this mess."

 

Arin gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back, though he was starting to lose hope himself. "Nonsense, Bar. We've got until tomorrow for these tickets. Miracles can happen, right?"

 

"If a miracle can happen in _nineteen_ _hours_ and come in the form of a Prince, sure."

 

The two walked on, snow crunching underfoot. There wasn't really anywhere for them to stay within St. Petersburg, they would have to make their way to the outskirts of the city before it got too dark. Arin looked around keeping himself deep in thought. There were many abandoned farming sheds and homes that had since become dilapidated since the revolution. However, near by there was also-

"You know what? We're going to spend our evening at the Catherine Palace, whaddya say? Start a nice fire, find a jar of beets or something'."

Barry raised an eyebrow at that. "You...want to break into the Palace?"

Arin nodded and made a complete turn around to the direction of the beaten forest path. "Yeah, I want to break into the Palace. Who gives a fuck?"

"Lead on." Barry cracked a smile and followed Arin under the shady trees.

"Not like we're going to get caught. Besides, what dumbass is going to want to go to some abandoned palace in the freezing cold?" 

  
~~*~~

 

Dan's feet were aching by the time he finally reached the last step to the Palace, Vernon snugly wrapped within his jacket still. Where was he even supposed to find this Arin guy? An outline of where a large set of doors once were had been boarded up, the windows much the same. The entire area looked rather wrecked, what with large black burn marks up the faded powder blue paint and a bent and damaged gate, holes that had been smashed into the marble steps and a crudely painted ' ** _end the war without annexations or indemnities_** ' above one of the windows. What if that old lady had set him up and the minute he turned his back, "Arin" would be mugging him?  
Vernon squirmed out of Dan's grasp and began to crawl under a small space between a bottom board of the doorway and the ruined marble floor, gone before Dan could grab him.

He pressed his face to cracks in the boards, eyes scanning for the dog. "Vernon! Vernon get back here!"

Vernon merely barked happily in reply from somewhere inside.

Dan sighed in frustration. He was starting to catch a chill from his snow soaked pant legs and he certainly couldn't get sick when he was supposed to be soon on his way to Paris! He gripped at a board tightly, pulling back with all of his might in an attempt to break a part off. It took a few sharp tugs before half of the boards snapped and Dan fell flat on his back.

"God damn it..." he muttered and stood himself up.

Walking inside, he was met with a rather spooky scene. It was very obvious that no one had lived here in a very long time; everything was covered in inches of dust and cobwebs. Each step of Dan's boots echoed around the place, the distant sound of scurrying mice sounded right back as they disappeared into the shadowy corners. Gold spun decorations lined up the walls and curved staircase that lead into a much bigger room, what looked to be a ballroom from what he could tell. Vernon came bounding out from under a table and to Dan's side, earning an ear scratch or two.

"Hello?" he called out nervously, not liking how massive the echo was. "Uhh... Arin?"

No answer.

He began to curiously look around more, finding each and every dusty vase and faded rug beautiful and even familiar, for some reason. Walking along a table filled with old silver dinnerware gave him such a rush of déjà vu that it made his head spin a bit. He'd never been to a place as lovely as this before, let alone very much at all outside of the orphanage... so why was this giving him such a bizarre feeling? It was almost like a memory from a dream...  
He examined a beautiful vase by the ballroom doors that was decorated with delicately painted bears and swans, running his fingertips as lightly as possible over the surface and stirring up dust. He felt a tug in his chest and grew even more confused by the second.

" _Once upon a December..._ "

Dan whipped around expecting to see someone, but it was just him and Vernon still... those words, said as a small whisper, but still brought up something in his distant memory that he just couldn't get a hold on. December? What was that even supposed to mean? He felt like he was supposed to remember it, he just... couldn't. It hurt his head and it was so _frustrating_.

_December, silver storms, someone who loves you, someone holding you safe...._

As Dan stepped all the way into the ballroom, he felt an even stronger tug. _Why_ did he know this place? It was almost like he had a dream or something along the lines of one long, long ago where girls were in sparkling dresses and men in jeweled coats and they were all _dancing_. What one would usually think of as something lovely and happy to imagine, it felt so bittersweet to him. _Why?_  

Dan walked slowly down the stairs, not noticing the whines coming from Vernon far behind him. It was almost as if he was seeing his imagination play out before him, the hall filled with glittering beings who were twirling in time to music that wasn't there. He had to be dreaming while awake, though all of this felt too familiar to have been a dream, it was like he had lived through many a scene like this before. Dan kept a graceful sway in his movements, a hummed tune escaping his lips before he even realized it. His head and chest hurt, but he ignored it, spinning slightly to look around the beautifully eerie room. 

_December, silver storms, someone who loves you, someone holding you safe...._

God, what did it _mean_? 

He could almost imagine beautiful regal clothes on himself to match the rest of the figures in his imagination, their gleaming forms twirling around him. All of this was so far away, glowing at the back of his mind as dim as an ember. These were the things he had thought of earlier in the morning, the things his heart needed to know- but as intimate as this felt within him, it was more of something his heart was yearning to remember.

He spun around and sang about the silver storms and warm December nights where he once felt loved, words rolling off his tongue that burned with familiarity he couldn't grasp. As his spin came to a slowed halt, a man stood before him, suddenly with his hand over Dan's.

 

"And a song... someone sings..." Dan trailed off as he stared at the apparition before him in wonder; he looked so real and it was almost as if he could feel the weight of the other's hand in his own. There was no warmth there, only air. 

 

The being leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to Dan's forehead that he wished he could feel. There was something even more bittersweet about this situation that stirred a deeper confusion within him. He could feel it prickling at the back of his mind. 

 

"Once upon a December...?" Dan phrased it more as a question as he slowly pulled back at arms length to then sit on the floor. _Why_ was the feeling of déjà vu becoming more intense by the moment? The two simply stared at each other, then the man, the... dream... flashed Dan a smile all too much like his own.

 

The moment of addled silence was broken by the being before him giving a happy little wave. " _Ehhhhh... okay bye_!" 

 

"Hey what the _FUCK_ are you doing?!" A voice, a very real one, barked from behind Dan, startling him so bad that he instantly upped and ran back for the doors. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to write in the whole scene where Dan will have that convo wit Arin and Barry, but I got so behind schedule on posting and now ofc it's nearly 4am here. Next chapter though! I'm not the best at time management, but I'm trying!! <3  
> Please know that there is an alternate version written for this where Dan totally Kevin Bacons his way around the ballroom to Footloose, a wonderful idea credit to the lovely Kat.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter of my first fic! Huzzah! I hope you've enjoyed it! Be sure to go check out my friend Sunni's ( @sunniapplepie ) works, they're wonderful! She's the one who came up with the idea for this au <3  
> ( You have no idea how badly I wanted to make Rasputin as Jake Paul but my mother asked me to think long and hard if getting sued by Team 10 was really something I wanted to happen. )


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